A LITTLE LAMB

We recently picked up a hefty lamb shoulder from one of my favorite butchers in town, Boucherie Abu Elias. Everything there is amazing and insanely affordable — especially their house-made hummus, spicy soujouk, whole chickens, and veal shank — and we were given strict instructions on how to prepare the cut. We covered the shoulder in loosely draped aluminum foil, andp laced in a pan filled with a few inches of water, where it braised in a 325 degree oven all afternoon. So simple and classic, and the results were spectacular and meltingly tender.

Because lamb shoulder is so deliciously fatty — apparently the cut’s fat content equals that of pork belly — the next day we decided to enjoy the leftovers as ‘lamb carnitas,’ and refried them in a cast-iron skillet until super crispy. With that, some seared carrots, rice pilaf, Himo’s pickled beets, the aforementioned Abu Elias hummus (its creaminess — the Platonic Ideal of hummus — is a total mystery to me, and I am in awe of its perfection), and seared green beans (blanch in water for two minutes, drain, and throw in super-hot skillet with butter until spotty with black char; toss with lemon juice and red pepper flakes and serve hot). Love it when leftovers are even more extraordinary than the first time around.